Only Enchanting (The Survivors' Club #4) by Mary Balogh

The Survivor's Club consists of seven friends who were all wounded in one way or another during the Napoleonic wars. Once a year they gather to check in on one another and to forge forward after their losses. Traditionally they all met at Penderris Hall in Cornwall, but due to Survivor, Vincent's wife having just given birth, the reunion takes place in his ancestral home Middlebury Park.

Flavian, Viscount Ponsonby suffered from a gunshot to the head and other injuries from falling from his horse and nearly being trampled. His recovery was a long and difficult one with his loved ones believing he was truly mad. When his betrothed left him for his one-time best friend, it tore his heart out and drove him to the brink. He still has his moments and cannot remember crucial parts of his past, when his older brother was still alive and was betrothed to Velma from birth. When it became evident that his brother would not live long, Velma sought out Flavian instead.

Agnes Keeping has been a widow for some time now. At the age of twenty-six, she is hardly an old biddy, but she is no great beauty either. When Viscount Ponsonby danced with her at a ball in her friend's home some months ago, she found herself quite taken with the man. Maybe she didn't know any better, he married life was comforting if not exciting and instead of love, there was respect. Agnes has never known great passion, but those few moments dancing in Flavian's arms were as close as she had ever come.

When Agnes is reacquainted with the Viscount, a very nontraditional courtship is about to begin. Still running from his past, Flavian without even really knowing himself, becomes more and more attached to the widow and knowing that she would never go to bed without the benefit of marriage, continuously asks Agnes to marry him, until he wears her down. Agnes thinks passion is wrong, it ruins lives, but Flavian sets out to show her all she was missing.

Back in London, after the quick wedding, Agnes discovers that a widowed Velma still has her heart set on Flavian. Realizing that she was married to enact revenge on his family, Agnes will either fight or flee for the unconventional relationship. 

I am an avid fan of Mary Balogh's Survivor's Club and this one is no exception with it's fair share of heartache and misunderstandings. Flavian's character has always stood out, waiting for his day in the sun, and finally it's here. There is no one more perfect for the role of his heroine than Agnes Keeping. She is independent and intelligent as well as strong-willed and endearing. Never did she think that her dreams could actually come to pass , until Viscount Ponsonby appears once again on horseback. The give and take of Only Enchanting by Mary Balogh is wonderful and it is a lovely continuation of one of my favorite series.

~KIMBERLY~